Kleptocracy tour

Kleptocracy tour refers to tours of cities where financial flows[1] from kleptocracies are being used to purchase residential property as a means of money-laundering.[2]

The concept was founded by anti-corruption campaigners, started in London in February, 2016 and was modelled on the 'Beverly Hills-type tours of the homes of the stars'.[3] The first tour focussed on properties owned by Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh klepto-oligarchs[4] congruent with the founders original area of expertise and awareness. The tour garnered widespread press coverage [5][6][7] and sparked strong interest in subsequent tours in London and abroad.

The tours began in early February 2016,[8] after the campaign for a public registry documenting the ultimate beneficial owners of London's offshore companies was rejected.[9] They are organised by the campaign group ClampK which highlights both the local economic distortions [10] caused by these capital inflows and the implicit corruption implied by facilitating this money-laundering by foreign kleptocrats. The tour is planned for expansion in Miami and New York City.[9]

See also

References
  1. Jamie McGeever (10 March 2015). "UK draws billions in unrecorded inflows, much from Russia". Reuters. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  2. "Private Eye Magazine | Official Site - the UK's number one best-selling news and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop".
  3. Henry Williams (9 February 2016). "Move over Royal Family. London's oligarchs are the new tourist attraction". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. Sally Hayden (5 February 2016). "On Board the Russian Dissidents' 'Kleptocracy' Bus". Vice News. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. "Russians in London: Government in exile". The Economist. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  6. Luke Harding (5 February 2016). "Mega-rich homes tour puts spotlight on London's oligarchs". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  7. "London's newest sightseeing tour shows homes of Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs". Ukraine Today. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. David Brown (5 February 2016). "On the trail of suspicious money: it's the 'kleptocracy tour' of London". The Times. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  9. Linda Kinstler (26 March 2016). "London's Latest Tourist Attraction: Russian Oligarchs". Fortune. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  10. Roman Borisovich (2 March 2016). "'Kleptocracy tours' expose state failure to stop dirty money buying up London". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2016.


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